Labours of Love and Convenience: Dealing with Community-Supported Knowledge in Museums

Stefano Cossu

doi:10.3390/publications7010019

Abstract

This writing utilizes the case study of a specific project, namely adopting a Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) based on open source technologies at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC), to describe the thought process, which along the way led to the discovery of Linked Data and more general technology development practices based on community participation. In order to better replicate such a thought process and its evolution into a broader strategy that goes beyond technology, this paper will begin by describing the problem that the Collection IT team at AIC had been initially tasked to resolve, and its technical implementation. After that, the paper will treat the strategic shift of resources from a self-contained production and review cycle toward an exchange-based economy. The challenges, both external and internal, posed by this change will be addressed. All the while, the paper will highlight perspectives and challenges related to the museum sector, and the efforts of AIC to adopt views and methodologies that have traditionally been associated with the library world. A section is dedicated to ongoing efforts of the same nature among museums.

Highlights

In 2013, shortly after joining the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC)1, I was tasked with implementing a Digital Asset Management System (DAMS)2 for the AIC collections
The collection information systems at AIC consisted of one Collection Management System (CMS) that had been developed in house since 1991, called CITI
Broader considerations emerged about the change that LAKE brought about and its untapped potential, especially in regard to publishing information and linking it against information published by other institutions

Summary

Introduction

The collection information systems at AIC consisted of one Collection Management System (CMS) that had been developed in house since 1991, called CITI This system had been built originally in HyperCard, and in the 2000s, migrated to 4D, a proprietary framework mostly known in the EU, which consists of a relational database, a programming language, an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), and a. The reason for this somewhat unusual setup among museums, which today rely for the vast majority on more or less established CMS vendors, may in part lay in the AIC size and complexity of workflows, and in the fact that AIC invested early in the digitization of its cataloging tools and practices. The need for a home-grown system, which has so far served its purpose well in terms of responsiveness to the museum staff’s needs

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Conclusion